Rock On with Danny Coleman's weekly entertainment picks

“I consider myself very lucky, I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I snuck in back in the ‘60’s, when things were kind of loosey goosey; so I stuck around,” says Bill Kirchen.

The man dubbed “The Titan Of The Telecaster” by “Guitar Player” magazine has been making music since his early childhood but is best known as the creative force behind Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen. Kirchen will be at The Record Collector on Farnsworth Avenue in Bordentown this Friday evening for an 8 p.m. show as he tours in support of his new CD “Seeds And Stems.”

Best known for penning the Cody hit “Hot Rod Lincoln,” Kirchen has performed, recorded and appeared with more musicians than he can remember. “Oh gosh, I’ve been so lucky to have met and played with so many people over the years,I am really fortunate. I’ve worked with Nick Lowe, Roy Buchanan, Gene Vincent and Elvis Costello to name a few.”

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Kirchen’s three solo efforts on Proper Records featured, in his words, “duets with Elvis Costello and all of the people that I’ve ever worked with.”“Seeds And Stems” is a strikingly fresh return to some of Kirchen’s rockabilly roots with country overtones packaged in a fresh new sound that can’t help but capture your attention. “I recorded it in London,” he said. “I used old friends and some new. I have a friend there who used to put out great CD box sets of old American music and I thought he’d be good for what I was trying to accomplish; so I recorded it there, kind of snuck it in while we were on tour.”

Kirchen and I next engaged in a discussion about “click tracks” and their function during the recording process. A click track is akin to a metronome, a device that makes a ticking or “clicking” sound as it keeps perfect time and is commonly used in the recording process to aide in keeping all of the instruments and players at the same speed. He and I were in agreement that these tracks can restrict the musician’s ability of expression at times. “All of my tracks started with a full band playing live together, no click tracks. I prefer a good live sound, I feel that it’s important to go that route because when performing or recording, the music has a natural tendency to breathe.”

Kirchen carries this attitude to the stage as well, even though he’s doing this show as a solo acoustic act. “I’ll be playing the Bordentown show as a solo,” he said. “I started out doing just a small string of solo shows, I find myself sneaking them in more these days.”

I asked him what we can expect as he goes solo this Friday and he confidently answered, “Oh, my latest album has mostly redone Cody material. There is no set list, I play for the audience but I’ll tell you this, I’m not going to stand up there and whine about my adolescence (laughs). Hey, I wake up in the morning I know it’s gone to be good when my elbows don’t hit wood! (laughing)” One of Bill’s favorite tunes on “Seeds And Stems” is a song titled “Semi-Truck.”“Semi-Truck” is a good one. I’m trying to round out my shows with this one; it shows what our life is really like.”

Logistics play a part in Kirchen’s decision to play solo versus with a band backing him. “I’m living in Texas, my band mates live in Virginia and Maryland; we don’t get together that often. My drummer and I have been working together for twenty years and we’re all experienced enough where when we walk out we can introduce new stuff during the sound check; we work it out then.”

Such is the style of Bill Kirchen; spontaneous, take it as it comes and roll with it. I admire this, as some of the best music that I’ve ever seen, heard or been a part of was done on the spur of the moment. This interview itself was rife with great side discussions, far more than I have room for in this space. I enjoyed talking with this music icon, as he was a straight shooter and more than very willing to talk music for as long as I wished. I’m sure that this personality will spill over on stage during his performance. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of show and if you stop by, please tell Bill that you heard it here.

Also on Friday, our good buddy Randy Now of Randy Now’s Man Cave has put together a great show with third wave ska / ska punk band The Toasters. They will also be in Bordentown at the Hope Hose Fire House located at 150 W. Burlington St. for a 7:30 p.m. BYOB show.

Making music together for more than thirty years, The Toasters have had songs used on television shows and commercials. Their material has been used as background music for Coca-Cola and America Online ads, they’ve had a song placed in the pilot episode of “Mission Hill” and they wrote the theme song to one of mine and my son’s favorite shows from the late ‘90’s, Nickelodeon’s “KaBlam.”

With ten studio, seven compilation and five live CDs, The Toasters have left an indelible mark on their genre and fans and they are making two appearances on Friday. The first is a meet and greet inside The Man Cave located at 15 Park St. from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Then they will make their way to the firehouse where the doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and are available on line at www.mancavenj.com or at The Man Cave itself.

Friday is also the Charles Laurita & The Mischief EP release party at Princeton Manor Banquet located at 661 Rte. 33 in Hamilton. Three great shows, all on my “can’t miss” list.

Saturday evening sees Blues In Disguise featuring TJ Nix and Paul Plumeri at Patriots Crossing on River Rd. at the Titusville bridge. Formerly Flaherty’s Pub, it’s great to see this venue open again after sitting idol for the last several years.

Kevin Toft’s Cold An’ Hard band is another option on Saturday evening as they take the floor at the Olde Liberty Tavern on Liberty St. in Trenton. Toft performs a mix of originals and cover tunes and has recently put this new band together; a departure from his solo acoustic sets.

Look for me and please say hello as I’ll be at several of these events over the weekend.

Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!